Summer Sparkle Quilt-Along: Part 3

Welcome back everyone! This is Week 3 of the Summer Sparkle Quilt Along. By now you should have at least a few of your blocks pieced. As I mentioned previously, don’t stress out if you do not have all your blocks finished. I know there is a lot of piecing involved! These instructions will be here waiting for you when you are ready.

Today we are going to assemble the blocks into the finished quilt top and talk about quilting ideas.

Week 3: Assemble the quilt.

Join the blocks.

Gather your (15) Block As and your (15) Block Bs. Alternating Block A – Block B – Block A – and so on, lay out your blocks as shown. Notice how I also alternate Pink Block A – Blue Block A, and the direction of both Block A and Block B.

Sew the blocks together into rows, then the rows together to form the finished quilt top.

Quilt the layers.

Create your backing: Cut the (3-1/3) yards of backing fabric in half, resulting in (2) pieces, 42” x 60”. Sew these together along the long side of the fabric, resulting in a backing that measures 60” x 84”. Trim to 60” x 70”.

TIP: I saved the leftover backing fabric and used it for my binding.

Baste the quilt layers together using your preferred method.

Quilt as desired. Inspired by flags flying in the wind, I chose to quilt mine using wavy lines. This is really easy to accomplish on my BERNINA sewing machine.

Select the running stitch (#4 on many BERNINA models). Leave the width as is and set the length to 3.5 mm. I love how the screen on the BERNINA 750QE visually shows the stitch change.

TIP: Make sure you are using an appropriate foot and stitch plate. (If you had switched to your quarter-inch foot (BERNINA Patchwork Foot #37) and a single hole straight stitch needle plate for piecing, now is the time to remove those and put on your regular stitch plate and foot.)

I used the edge of my foot as a guide and, starting in the middle row of my quilt, quilted wavy lines horizontally through my quilt.

TIP: When quilting using this technique, I never mark lines on my quilt. Wavy lines are very forgiving. Instead of stressing over marking my quilt, I follow occasional block seams to self-correct any drifting while quilting.

You are now finished with your Summer Sparkle quilt! I hope you enjoyed quilting along with me here at We All Sew. I’d love to see your finished quilts! Leave a link to your photo in the comments to share with everyone.